1- Wanting a foot job really badly, but the girlfriend at the time not really being good at giving them. It's hard to say if all men, or even most men have seen them, it's not really something I would mention to my friends. But there are those who openly mention, discuss it and hire together, so... I'm sure some haven't.
2- For me it's not a hobby, it's literally a sexual addiction -- same as how I flirt and go out to meet women. With escorts, though, I can essentially decide on the activity and the escort decides on the price. It's less fun than chasing, going out, having one night stands or hook ups through dating and all, but I like explaining what I'm into and getting that rather than romantically, organically building up to it.
I'd simply say I can be more honest with escorts because the fear of rejection isn't as important, it's essentially a business deal that is either accepted by both parties, or null and void. With seduction and all that, it's significantly more time consuming to "open up". For me, at least. Some people are probably much more straightforward, but my interests are far more kinky overall, but I still prefer seduction vs. the BDSM crew.
3- Since I don't talk about this to anyone, it's nice to see people who understand a part of my world that will probably stay forever hidden to my family and friends, etc... Obviously plenty of guys hire escorts and are aware of this world, but I've been doing it a long time, probably addicted at this point.